Do Unto Others...

Perspectives from the Classroom is a quarterly blog featuring innovative, creative, and inspiring perspectives on teaching and learning from our exceptional faculty and staff. Below are stories from teachers who exhibit best practices in Ignatian Pedagogy and the Science of Teaching and Learning; highlighting strategies that they use that have had a positive impact on academics.

Center for Ignatian Pedagogy

"Do Onto Others..."

by Kim Gross, English

“Every Kid Needs a Champion” by Rita Pierson resonates with me. She begins her speech by talking about a colleague who told her that: “They don’t pay me to like them. They pay me to teach them.” While that statement alarms me, I’m not surprised by its existence. Besides the obvious concerns of those two sentences, I myself have had a few teachers in my educational career who lived that mantra. I can also say that I was not that successful in those classrooms either. I may have earned an A or a B in the course, but I did not learn the material or enjoy my time there. Their definition of “rigor” was essentially Doing School for me in a nutshell.

Ironically, I did take something from them that stays with me 26 years later. Learning is not measured merely by grades but by the joy and love of learning. I realized from my teachers and professors who showed genuine care and interest in our class’ well-being were the ones I gained the most from, so I decided a long time ago that I wanted my students to know that I care and want them to grow in our classroom.

For one, I instill a relationship with my students from early on. I establish a culture of care on day one with something as simple as a smile, a “Good morning,” and basic questions as students arrive.

I then add to that relationship with the letters I ask my students to write to me. I give them a list of prompts to use to get them started. I ask them about their comfort level with English courses, what they like about English, what they don’t like about English, and then I invite them to share, only if they are comfortable doing so, anything that they feel I should know right away. I give them examples of, “My brother just left for college, and I’m struggling with that,” or “My grandmother is not doing well, so would you please pray for her?” or “I am struggling with anxiety because school is stressful for me.”

Those prompts are invitations for a written conversation we start but continue through the year with verbal check-ins. If I’m being honest, the hardest part is writing back to every single student, but I get through it. Each student has his letter returned by the end of September. It is remarkable to see the change in students once they receive my response. Students at that moment know I have a vested interest in their well-being and success.

Second, everything in the classroom is ours. Students need to feel ownership of their education. I’m careful about the specific language I use in conversation, introducing ideas, and even in my writing to convey a sense of ownership.

Third—something that is necessary in any relationship— is prioritizing trust. My students write about personal events whether it is the college essay or a journal on their relationship with God in AP Language, or a narrative essay with my sophomores on an event that has shaped them in some way or a personal creative writing response. Those moments build a trust between educator and student, between human being to human being.

I let students know the purpose in every single thing they do, and I reiterate that it is okay to make mistakes. I stress that if they make mistakes along the way, it is totally fine. I encourage mistakes in the classroom because that is how we learn. As a matter of fact, after prayer, we start our class with fixing errors in a sentence, and we learn from those mistakes. While this is a minor approach, students learn early on that it is okay to struggle or fail, it gives them the opportunity to grow and be okay with challenges along the way. I’m not so naive to think that this translates to rigor, but I definitely think that it translates to moving out of one’s comfort zone.

A culture of success is not always measured by a test score or a final course grade, but it can be measured in the way a student remembers you and remembers that you truly cared. In Bryan Stevenson’s Ted Talk, “We Need to Talk About an Injustice,” he speaks of the impact teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc… can make when they are compassionate. I take his words to heart each day. Relatively speaking, my time with these young men is short. I hope that my actions will teach them how to care and be compassionate long after they leave Saint Ignatius High School.

Admissions Test for Class of 2029

Do Unto Others...

"Do Onto Others..."